Monday’s Bomb Attack: Chad Army Arrests Five Boko Haram Militants

The Chadian army says it has arrested five suspects allegedly linked to the suicide bombings that killed 34 people on Monday.

The two simultaneous attacks on Monday were the first of their kind in Chad and appeared to be retaliation by Boko Haram for Chad’s leading role in an offensive against the militants.

Chad, a key Western ally in the fight against armed Islamist groups both in the Sahara and Lake Chad area, revised the death toll up to 34 on Wednesday.
Over 100 people were injured in the attacks on a central police station and a police school in the capital.

“There has been progress,” said Abderahim Bireme Hamid, Minister for the Interior and Public Security. “Several suspects, between 5 and 6, have been arrested,” he said.

Chad, a mostly Muslim country, also said it would ban head-to-toe burqas and religious turbans.
“Even the burqas for sale in the markets will be withdrawn,” said Prime Minister Kalzeube Pahimi Deubet, who met religious leaders on Wednesday to discuss the measures.

Oil revenues have helped Chad become a military heavyweight and its troops were vital in driving Boko Haram militants from territory in northern Nigeria this year.